Volleyball is just a more intense version of “don’t let that balloon hit the floor”.As that statement mentions, volleyball is an intense sport played by two teams; each with six players, where a ball is passed over a high net to get scores. A team scores by grounding the ball on the court of the opponent’s side under organized rules. To avoid grounding inside their own court, a team can pass the ball thrice within their teammates; after which it should be passed over the net to the opponent.
This interesting and power packed game was originally invented by William G. Morgan in the year 1895 in the United States of America. Just like the ball, the game got passed all over the world and reached Sri Lanka in 1916. It had also made its way to Olympics in the year 1964.
Played for over a century in Sri Lanka, volleyball is one of the oldest and most privileged games in the sports history of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura as well.
There are both men’s and women’s teams in the university with a bunch of dedicated players under the guidance of a very talented coach, Mr. Aruna Shanta. He had been coaching the university teams during the early years (1998-2002) and rejoined the university in the year 2016. Both the men’s and women’s teams have won remarkable achievements along their way. The women’s team has made their way to occupy the 2nd runner-up position in SLUG, 2016.They also got qualified for the quarter finals in SLUG, 2019 under the captaincy of P.G.C Harshani, assisted by P.N.Sewwandi. The men’s team made it to the quarter finals in SLUG, 2019 under the captaincy of Dananjaya Pathirana, assisted by Ruvin Fernando. The teams have proved their talents in the Inter-University Games as well.The women’s team has won runner-up in Inter-University Games, 2013 and has secured the championship in the following two consecutive years(2014,2015) under the coaching of Mr. Omal Chandrasekara. They have also won runner-up in 2016, and got qualified for the quarter-finals in the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 under the coaching of Mr. Aruna Shanta. The men’s team won 2nd runner-up in the Inter-University Games, 2017. The women’s team was also offered with an international tour to Malasiya as a compliment for winning the championship of Inter-University Games, 2015.
Apart from the national level achievements, our passionate players have also taken the name of our country to international platforms.Three players from the women’s team, A.A.T Jayakanthi, D.A Pramodi Madhushani and Dilhani Karunaratne have been selected for the Sri Lankan Volleyball team. Also, L. Kasuri Lakshika participated in the World University Beach Volleyball Tournament-2018 that was held in Munich- Germany.
Owing to the burning passion and undying commitment they have for the sports, our players keep creating milestones and they never fail to glorify Mother J’pura. Thus they stay stronger alone, unstoppable together!
Written by: Marian Rachel
Designed by: Jithmi Rajapaksha